Trump Aide Peter Navarro Dubs India, “Maharaja Of Tariffs”
India-West News Desk
WASHINGTON, DC — India is the “maharaja of tariffs,” White House Trade Adviser Peter Navarro said on August 7 as he defended President Donald Trump’s move to double US duties on Indian goods in response to New Delhi’s continued purchase of Russian oil.
Trump’s August 6 order added a 25% levy on Indian imports, bringing total duties to 50% — among the highest the US has imposed on any country. Navarro claimed India’s tariff regime was already among the steepest in the world, with high non-tariff barriers that keep American products out.
Asked why China, which buys more Russian oil than India, had not faced a similar penalty, Navarro said: “As the boss says, let’s see what happens. Keep in mind that we have over 50% tariffs on China already, so we don’t want to get to a point where we actually hurt ourselves.”
He framed the India tariffs as a matter of national security rather than simple reciprocity. “This was a pure national security issue associated with India’s abject refusal to stop buying Russian oil,” Navarro said. He argued that US dollars spent on Indian goods ultimately fund Russia’s war effort in Ukraine, forcing American taxpayers to shoulder the cost of defending Ukraine.
“That has got to stop,” he said. “The president understands the connection between economic security and national security — that was the bottom line.”
FreePerson
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Navarro and others in this administration are stuck in their propaganda!
Simple math. If US IMPORTS more than $3B and Europe imports $64B from Russia, and India imports $2.8B oil, who is funding more Russia?
They think we’re all stupid and fall for their reasoning!
They have different agenda.
August 8, 2025Daljit Singh
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Peter Navarro is not a reputable scholar in international trade and economic public policy. Most of his books were published by the second-tier publishing houses, and his research articles were mostly written for non-peer-reviewed journals. According to Professor Simon Johnson of MIT, Peter Navarro’s trade theories “seem to have come from a different planet.” If implemented, “the result would be an immediate and unmitigated disaster.”
The real reason for his anti-India diatribe is the fact that Navarro spent four months in jail on the order of Judge Amit Mehta for two counts of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena in their investigation of anti-government activities and the attack on the US Capitol building on January 6, 2021. Therefore, he seems to have deep-seated resentments and hatred for India and Indians.
August 8, 2025